This Thursday, Amazon Fresh opened its 11th store in Bloomingdale, Illinois, and according to Bloomberg News, the e-commerce giant plans to expand as a major grocery store chain nationwide.
Bloomberg News reported Amazon is working to open another 28 stores soon, characterized by modern technology and contactless payment for purchases.
While an Amazon spokesperson confirmed that they are working on opening five new stores, they did not offer comments on more stores’ development. However, Bloomberg reported that, based on their research, they established that Amazon Fresh would open 28 stores in different states, from Philadelphia to Sacramento.
Industry analysts indicated that Amazon Fresh stores are likely to be cheap to start up and even more affordable to run, the perfect weapon to establish themselves for the long term in an industry notorious for low margins.
“In order for them to have a chance of growing market share in grocery, they had to cover their flank” among price-conscious shoppers, says David Bishop, a partner with Brick Meets Click, a grocery consultancy that conducted the pricing analysis for Bloomberg. “The store tends to be more functional, as opposed to inspirational.”
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Earlier this year, dunnhumby’s Retail Preference Index (RPI) identified Amazon as the best overall grocery retailer and placed it at the top of the list for customer safety ratings.
The dunnhumby RPI score is derived from data collected through an online survey of about 10,000 U.S. households each year to understand the factors that drive customer preference and rank the top 57 U.S. grocery retailers. The survey analyzes how each retailer meets specific customer needs, including price, quality, digital, operations, speed, and more.
Amazon Fresh stores range in size from 25,000 to 45,000 square feet. They feature Amazon Dash Cart, intelligent shopping carts, which allow customers to skip the checkout line, and new Alexa features to help customers manage their shopping lists and better navigate store aisles.
Amazon Fresh also offers a wide assortment of national brands and high-quality produce, meat, and seafood. Also, they have a diverse range of prepared foods that are cooked in-store each day.